2010 Steinlager nominees announced

Posted on Nov 22, 2010 in Rugby News

A stunning year of success on the international stage will be recognised when New Zealand rugby honours its best at the 2010 Steinlager Rugby Awards.

A logjam of winning national teams and outstanding individual performances on and off the field make for an exciting list of nominees and add extra interest to the final judging decisions which will be revealed at The Langham Hotel, Auckland, on Thursday 16 December and broadcast on SKY Sport and The Rugby Channel.

In addition to the top players, referees and volunteers recognised on the night, there will be keen interest in the selection of the adidas Team of the Year from an extended field of five teams, all of which won international championships or Series in 2010.

The New Zealand Under 20 team (Junior World Champions), Black Ferns (IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup Champions), New Zealand Sevens (Delhi Commonwealth Games gold medallists), New Zealand Māori (unbeaten in Sealord New Zealand Māori Centenary Series) and All Blacks (unbeaten Steinlager Series and Investec Tri Nations Champions) could all be considered worthy of the award which will be presented by the Hon Murray McCully, Minister for Sport and Recreation.

Similarly, the New Zealand Rugby Coach of the Year will try and separate a field that includes New Zealand Māori Coach Jamie Joseph, Under 20 Coach Dave Rennie, Black Ferns Coach Brian Evans, New Zealand Sevens maestro Gordon Tietjens and All Blacks Coach Graham Henry.

The success of New Zealand’s national teams will also make the task of identifying the best Age Grade, Sevens and Women’s Players of the Year a tough assignment.

Under 20 captain Tyler Bleyendaal will be up against teammate and lock Liaki Moli, and New Zealand Schools captain and halfback TJ Perenara.

Kurt Baker, who sealed New Zealand’s come-from-behind win in the Sevens final in Delhi, will be up against fellow speedster Sherwin Stowers and Sevens veteran Lote Raikabula for the Richard Crawshaw Memorial Sevens Player of the Year Award.

And the Black Ferns’ hard-fought win over England to seal the team’s fourth IRB Women’s RWC title elevated the claims of try-scoring sensation Carla Hohepa, loose forward Justine Lavea and captain Melissa Ruscoe to the final three for the NZRU Women’s Player of the Year award.

The Centenary Year of Māori rugby and the team’s thrilling victories in the Centenary Series will be further recognised with loose forward and Māori captain Liam Messam, wing Hosea Gear, and All Blacks and Hurricanes playmaker Piri Weepu in contention for the treasured Tom French Memorial Māori Player of the Year Award.

The re-named Charles Monro Rugby Volunteer of the Year trophy will again honour the contribution volunteers make to community rugby.  The 2010 nominees are North Harbour’s Don Berry, Counties Manukau’s Ron Howard and Hilton Williams from Horowhenua-Kapiti.

The Heartland Championship Player of the Year nominees are Wanganui loose forward and Heartland XV captain Peter Rowe, North Otago back rower Josh Collier and Mid Canterbury’s rising star Tim Perry.

The nominees for the NZRU Referee of the Year Award are Bay of Plenty’s Nick Briant, Test referee Bryce Lawrence and New Zealand’s top female referee Nicky Inwood.

A compelling year of ITM Cup rugby sees Southland’s popular captain and prop Jamie Mackintosh nominated for ITM Cup Player of the Year together with Hawke’s Bay hooker Hikawera Elliot and Canterbury’s champion centre Robbie Fruean.

The Rebel Sport Super 14 Player of the Year will be decided amongst the Crusaders’ prop Owen Franks, Blues’ halfback Alby Mathewson and Crusaders’ loose forward and early-season captain Kieran Read.

A stunning year at the back of the Crusaders and All Blacks scrum also sees Read in the mix for the supreme award, the Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Player of the Year, alongside his All Blacks and Crusaders skipper, Richie McCaw, and their Super Rugby and All Blacks teammate, lock Brad Thorn.

Pam Tremain will be joined on the stage for the awarding of New Zealand’s top rugby award by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon John Key.

The Steinlager Salver, a special presentation to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to New Zealand rugby, will also be announced and presented at the Awards function.

The judges for the 2010 Steinlager Rugby Awards are former All Blacks captain and former NZRU President Andy Leslie, NZRU Board member and former All Blacks captain Graham Mourie, SKY Sport rugby commentator Grant Nisbett and former All Black and current NZRU General Manager Community and Provincial Union Rugby Brent Anderson.

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The 2010 Steinlager Rugby Awards nominees

NZRU Age Grade Player of the Year

· Tyler Bleyendaal (Canterbury & New Zealand Under 20)

· Liaki Moli  (Auckland & New Zealand Under 20)

· TJ Perenara (Wellington & New Zealand Schools)

Richard Crawshaw Memorial Sevens Player of the Year

· Kurt Baker (Taranaki)

· Lote Raikabula (Manawatu)

· Sherwin Stowers (Counties Manukau)

NZRU Referee of the Year

· Nick Briant

· Nicky Inwood

· Bryce Lawrence

NZRU Women’s Player of the Year

· Carla Hohepa (Otago)

· Justine Lavea (Auckland)

· Melissa Ruscoe (Canterbury)

Charles Monro Rugby Volunteer of the Year

· Don Berry  (North Harbour)

· Ron Howard (Counties Manukau)

· Hilton Williams (Horowhenua-Kapiti)

Rebel Sport Super 14 Player of the Year

· Owen Franks (Crusaders)

· Alby Mathewson (Blues)

· Kieran Read (Crusaders)

Tom French Memorial Māori Player of the Year

· Liam Messam, Ngai Tuhoe (Waikato, Chiefs, New Zealand Māori, All Blacks)

· Hosea Gear, Ngati Porou (Wellington, Hurricanes, New Zealand Māori, All Blacks)

· Piri Weepu, Whakatohea (Wellington, Hurricanes, All Blacks)

Heartland Championship Player of the Year

· Josh Collier (North Otago)

· Tim Perry (Mid Canterbury)

· Peter Rowe (Wanganui)

ITM Cup Player of the Year

· Hikawera Elliot (Hawke’s Bay)

· Robbie Fruean (Canterbury)

· Jamie Mackintosh (Southland)

adidas Team of the Year

· All Blacks

· Black Ferns

· New Zealand Māori

· New Zealand Sevens

· New Zealand Under 20

New Zealand Rugby Coach of the Year

· Graham Henry (All Blacks)

· Jamie Joseph (New Zealand Māori)

· Dave Rennie (New Zealand Under 20 Team)

· Gordon Tietjens (New Zealand Sevens)

· Brian Evans  (Black Ferns)

Steinlager Salver for an Outstanding Contribution to New Zealand Rugby

Recipient announced on the night

Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Player of the Year

· Kieran Read (Canterbury, Crusaders, All Blacks)

· Richie McCaw (Canterbury,  Crusaders, All Blacks)

· Brad Thorn (Canterbury,  Crusaders, All Blacks)

100 year old Maori jersey goes missing

Posted on Nov 1, 2010 in Rugby News

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) is offering a reward for information leading to the return of a rare and precious 100 year-old New Zealand Maori Rugby jersey stolen from Rotorua during the Sealord Maori Centenary celebrations in June.

The reward offer follows a public appeal launched last month to try and recover the jersey.

The 1910 jersey had belonged to New Zealand Maori hooker David Small – one of the members of the first ever New Zealand Maori team.  Small wore the jersey while on tour in Australia with the 1910 team.   He continued to play for New Zealand Maori in 1911 and 1913.

The Small family had loaned the jersey to the New Zealand Maori team for the duration of their three-match centenary tour.

The jersey was stolen from a function at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua on 18 June and police are continuing to investigate the theft. 

NZRU Chief Executive Steve Tew hopes the reward will encourage people to come forward with information.

"Our efforts so far to find the jersey have not been successful and we want to do as much as we can to support the police investigation.

“Someone out there knows something and we urge them to come forward with information as we really want to return the jersey to the Small family,” he said.

The Bay of Plenty Police Acting District Commander Detective Inspector John Tims says a CIB investigation team is actively investigating the theft.

"To date the investigation has included viewing CCTV footage and interviewing dozens of people who were involved in the centenary event – before, during and after the event. We are also continuing to monitor online auction sites in case the jersey is listed for sale.

"We are treating this complaint seriously, however, the key to recovering the jersey will be that vital piece of information that we do not yet have.

"Someone will know something about this jersey and we ask them to come forward – either to the NZRU, officially to Police or anonymously via the independently run Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111,” he said

The jersey is black with a red centre band and a gold fern. It is in very fragile condition and the Small family and the NZRU are appealing for its return.

About the jersey: The jersey has been in the Small family for 100 years and was worn by David Small in 1910 while on a tour of Australia. That 1910 tour saw the team win seven, draw two and lose two matches. The team was managed by Ned Parata and was captained by Alex Takarangi.

Small was a Southland representative from 1908-1913 and also refereed in the region for three years.

The Southland hooker had strong connections to rugby – his first cousin Billy Stead, who also played in the 1910 team with him, was vice-captain of the 1905 Originals and captained the All Blacks in 1908, playing in four Tests as captain and a total of 35 games in his career.

The jersey was discovered in 1961 by Small’s son Vern when cleaning out his father’s garage in Wellington. The Sports Post subsequently published a photo of David Small in 1961 in what was even then, a very tattered jersey.

West coast rugby sanctioned by NZRU

Posted on Oct 15, 2010 in Rugby News

West Coast Rugby has been stripped of five competition points and fined $2,500 today following a hearing before a subcommittee of the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) Board in Wellington today.

The hearing was convened to investigate a complaint that West Coast had breached the NZRU Player Eligibility Regulations during their Lochore Cup and Heartland Championship match against Wairarapa-Bush in Masterton on Saturday 2 October. West Coast won the match 35 – 30.

The subcommittee heard that West Coast knowingly breached the Player Eligibility Regulations in fielding the ineligible player under another player’s name on the team sheet and the match report.

NZRU Player Eligibility Regulations are fundamental to the integrity of the competition. In the case of this deliberate breach, the monetary fine and loss of points were considered to be an appropriate penalty.

The panel consisted of subcommittee Chairman Peter Hobbs, NZRU General Manager of Professional Rugby Neil Sorensen, and Board member Ivan Haines.

West Coast Rugby Union was represented by their Chief Executive Mike Connors and legal counsel John Sproat.

The removal of the five competition points puts West Coast on nine points, dropping them from second to fourth place on the Lochore Cup table.

NZRU appoints General Manager, Public Affairs

Posted on Sep 30, 2010 in Rugby News

The New Zealand Rugby Union has today announced the appointment of Nick Brown as General Manager, Public Affairs.

Mr Brown is currently Head of Communications and Brand at Alcatel-Lucent (New Zealand and Pacific), a global telecommunications organisation, and will start in the newly-created position in November.

His role will encompass management of the NZRU’s communications, government relations, media management, charities, and online and social media responsibilities.

An experienced communications executive, Mr Brown has held a range of senior roles in the public affairs area including Head of PR and Sponsorship at Telecom New Zealand where he led the company’s NZRU and All Blacks partnership activities.

NZRU CEO Steve Tew said the organisation was pleased to be able to announce such a high–calibre appointee for this newly created and vitally important role.

“The relationships the NZRU has with the multitude of different and diverse organisations and people involved in our game, including our fans, is hugely important and we look forward to having Nick on board to help us further develop those relationships,” he said.

Mr Brown said he is pleased to be joining the organisation at what is an exciting time for the sport in New Zealand.

“It’s a busy period ahead for rugby at every level of the game. I’m looking forward to being part of the NZRU team as they prioritise connecting with all audience groups in relevant and engaging ways,” he said.

NZRU and NZRPA ratify new Collective Employment Agreement

Posted on Jul 1, 2010 in Rugby News

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and the New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA) have signed a new Collective Employment Agreement for professional rugby players in New Zealand from 2010 to 2012.

Formal signing of the agreement follows the December announcement that they had reached agreement on the major issues raised during collective bargaining, and detailed contract drafting and ratification by the NZRU Board, Provincials Unions, Franchises and the NZRPA members and its Board.

As signalled last year, the new Collective Agreement includes:

• an on-going commitment by all parties to work in partnership to ensure the growth and success of New Zealand rugby
• the continuation of the revenue sharing model at a revised level,
• the introduction of a new player contracting and payment model that will see:
  • Super Rugby Franchises (working in conjunction with the NZRU) directly contracting Super Rugby players to their squads (regardless of which Province they choose to play for);
  • Super Rugby Squads expanded to between 30 and 32 players with an ability to include two overseas players subject to certain criteria and NZRU approval from 2011 onwards;
  • Provincial Unions subject to a revised Salary Cap model that includes a cap on what any individual player can be paid by a Province
• the incorporation of the new format for the Super Rugby and ITM Cup domestic competition from 2011; and
• confirmation of initiatives relating to Players at Provincial Union and academy levels being unable to assemble for rugby requirements between the hours of 9am and 5pm outside of the competition period and required as part of their contract to undertake some form of meaningful work and / or study.

The new agreement replaces the existing Collective Agreement and is effective from 1 January 2010.

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